Silverstripe vs WordPress

Silverstripe and WordPress are two popular content management systems (CMSs) that that can be used to run your website. While both CMSs have their strengths and weaknesses, here are some reasons why we think Silverstripe is better than WordPress.

Security

Silverstripe stands out as a reliable choice for businesses aiming to safeguard their sensitive information and ensure the integrity of their digital operations. This level of security helps keep users safe and protected.

One of the main advantages of Silverstripe is its smaller user base. Unlike WordPress, which powers a significant portion of the internet and is often a prime target for hackers, Silverstripe enjoys a degree of relative obscurity. This smaller footprint makes it less attractive to cybercriminals, who typically focus their efforts on more widely-used platforms to maximise their impact.

Security is a top priority for both the Silverstripe community and Silverstripe Ltd. To ensure the CMS is secure, every minor release undergoes an external security audit, making it fit for use in many government sites it powers. Additionally, as an open-source platform, Silverstripe allows for thorough review and scrutiny by the community. This transparent and proactive approach ensures that businesses using Silverstripe benefit from robust security practices, significantly reducing the risk of data breaches and other cyber threats.

For businesses, this security advantage is crucial. Cyberattacks can lead to substantial financial loss, damage to reputation, and erosion of customer trust. In an era where cybersecurity is of paramount importance, Silverstripe's robust security features offer peace of mind and provide a solid foundation for any business looking to thrive online. By choosing a platform like Silverstripe, businesses can better protect their digital assets and maintain the confidence of their users.

Customisation

Silverstripe is highly customisable and offers a level of flexibility that can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your business. Unlike many other content management systems, Silverstripe allows developers to easily create custom templates, modules, and extensions. This means that we can design and build a website that fits your unique requirements, without being limited by the constraints of pre-built themes or templates.

For instance, if your business requires a specific feature or functionality that isn't available out-of-the-box, we can develop it from scratch or modify existing components to better align with your vision. This customisation potential extends to every aspect of your website, from the user interface to the backend operations, ensuring a seamless and cohesive user experience.

In contrast, WordPress, which is widely known for its extensive library of third-party plugins, may not always offer the same level of customisation. While plugins can provide a quick solution for adding new features, they often come with their own set of challenges. Third-party plugins can introduce new security vulnerabilities, compatibility issues, and maintenance overheads. As a result, businesses might find themselves constantly managing updates and troubleshooting conflicts between plugins, which can detract from their core activities.

By choosing Silverstripe, businesses can enjoy greater control over their digital presence, ensuring that their website not only meets their current needs but can also adapt and grow with them in the future. This makes Silverstripe an excellent choice for businesses looking to create a unique, secure, and scalable online platform.

Ease of use

Silverstripe provides a clean and intuitive user interface that makes it easy for non-technical users to manage content on their website. The platform's interface is designed with simplicity and usability in mind, ensuring that even those with limited technical knowledge can navigate and utilise its features with ease.

Silverstripe uses a powerful WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor. This editor allows users to create and edit content without any knowledge of HTML or CSS. With the WYSIWYG editor, users can easily format text, add images and videos, create links, and more, all while seeing side-by-side how the content will appear on the live website. This real-time preview capability helps users make precise adjustments and ensures that the final content looks polished and professional.

Silverstripe's intuitive user interface provides a seamless content management experience, ensuring that also non-technical users can maintain an up-to-date and engaging online presence without relying on developers or technical experts.

Version control

One of the standout features of Silverstripe is its built-in version control, which significantly enhances the platform's usability and reliability. This feature allows content editors to track changes made to the website's content over time, providing a clear history of edits and updates.

With version control, content editors can easily identify who made specific changes and when they were made. This level of transparency is invaluable for collaborative environments where multiple team members contribute to content creation and management. If an error is introduced or an unintended change is made, editors can quickly revert to a previous version, ensuring that the website remains accurate and consistent.

On top of that, version control provides a safety net for content experimentation. Editors can test new ideas, layouts, and features without the fear of permanently altering the live site. If the new changes do not yield the desired results, they can simply roll back to an earlier version, making it easier to maintain the website's overall quality and user experience.

SEO built in

Silverstripe is designed with search engine optimisation (SEO) in mind, offering a range of features that help improve your site's search engine rankings. This ensures that your website is more visible to potential visitors and can attract a larger audience. SEO is a critical aspect of digital marketing, and Silverstripe provides the tools needed to optimise your site effectively.

Silverstripe's customisable nature allows developers to fine-tune various aspects of the site to meet specific SEO requirements. For example, you can easily customise meta tags, headers, and URL structures, which are crucial elements for SEO.

While WordPress also offers robust SEO capabilities, it often relies on third-party plugins to achieve the desired results. Silverstripe's built-in SEO features and customisable options provide a more integrated and secure solution for optimising your site.

Scalability

Silverstripe is highly scalable, making it an excellent choice for a wide range of web projects, from small websites to large, complex web applications. This scalability ensures that Silverstripe can accommodate the evolving needs of your business, providing a flexible solution that grows alongside your organisation. Whether you're a small business just starting out or a large enterprise with extensive digital requirements, Silverstripe's framework supports the development of robust, scalable solutions that can adapt to your changing needs.

One of the core strengths of Silverstripe is its modular architecture. This architecture allows developers to build and integrate new features and functionalities as your business requirements evolve. For small websites, this means you can start with a basic setup and gradually expand as your needs grow, adding new modules and extensions without disrupting the existing site. For larger, more complex web applications, Silverstripe's scalability ensures that your site can handle increased traffic, data, and functionality as your business scales up.

Open source

Silverstripe is open-source, which means that it is not only free to use but can also be modified by anyone. This flexibility is one of the key reasons why Silverstripe has become a popular choice for businesses of all sizes.

Being open-source also fosters a strong community of developers and contributors who actively work on improving the software. This collaborative environment leads to continuous enhancements, regular updates, and a wide range of extensions and plugins that can be integrated into your website.

The open-source nature of Silverstripe makes it an economically attractive option for startups and small businesses with limited budgets. Even larger organisations can take advantage of the cost savings while enjoying the freedom to customise and scale their websites without being locked into proprietary software constraints.

The transparency of open-source software means that businesses can thoroughly review the code for security and compliance purposes. This level of scrutiny helps identify and address potential vulnerabilities, enhancing the overall security of the platform. Businesses can also contribute back to the community by sharing their improvements and innovations, fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.

Community

While Silverstripe has a smaller community compared to WordPress, it is renowned for its active and supportive user base. The dedicated community of developers and users is one of Silverstripe's greatest strengths, fostering a collaborative environment where knowledge and resources are freely shared. This sense of camaraderie ensures that even newcomers to the platform can find the guidance and support they need to succeed.

Support within the Silverstripe community extends beyond just written documentation. The official Silverstripe Slack channel provides a space where users can ask questions, share experiences, and seek advice from more experienced members. This real-time interaction is particularly beneficial for troubleshooting issues, brainstorming solutions, and staying up-to-date with the latest developments and updates in the Silverstripe ecosystem.

 

We honestly think that Silverstripe is the better platform than WordPress. It lets us built whatever your business needs, without getting in the way. It gives you the long term solution and stability your business needs. If you're interested in using Silverstripe for your website, contact us to have a chat!